School of Business

Dr. Brendan Dwyer is a professor and the director of research and distance learning at the Center for Sport Leadership (CSL) at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). He has been a faculty member at the institution since 2009, promoted to associate professor in 2015 and promoted to full professor in 2024. Dwyer holds an undergraduate degree in economics and a master's degree and doctorate in sport administration. Overseeing the Center’s research in 2011, CSL faculty, staff, and students have published over 100 peer-reviewed articles, secured nearly $2 million in external grants and contracts, and conducted more than 120 peer-reviewed, national and international presentations. In October 2021 Dwyer received the prestigious Sutton Award from Sports Marketing Assoicatioun. 

Dwyer's individual research interests center on sport consumer behavior. Currently, he has published 60 peer-reviewed articles in a number of different journals including Sport Management Review, Journal of Sport Management (JSM), European Sport Management Quarterly, Sport Marketing Quarterly (SMQ), Journal of Gambling Studies, and Communication & Sport. Dwyer has contributed to six book chapters and has 74 national and international presentations at professional conferences, including the American Marketing Association, North American Society for Sport Management (NASSM), and Sport Marketing Association (SMA). He been part of a team that has secured nearly $1.5 million in research and programming grants from the U.S. Department of State. In addition, he has led a team in securing $170,000 in external research and educational contracts. Dwyer currently serves on six editorial boards including the JSM, and from 2015-2019, he was the Associate Editor of SMQ. In 2021, Dwyer won the prestigious Sutton Award at SMA. Dwyer is a research fellow at NASSM and SMA, and before the CSL’s transition the School of Business in 2019, Dwyer was awarded the School of Education’s Faculty Scholarship Award in 2013. He has also won the Best Professional Paper Award at SMA six times in the span of nine years (2010-18).

Dwyer has also worked extensively industry partners including the U.S. Olympic Committee, Nike, the Washington Football Team, Richmond Raceway, Richmond Region Tourism, Qatar Olympic Committee, Special Olympics Virginia, Running USA, the Fantasy Sports and Gaming Association, and a number of other gaming providers including DraftKings and NumberFire.

See Dr. Dwyer's research and publications